90 year old woman charged $3,800 by a locksmith...until the news showed up at his door

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

[MontanaMama]

1. I am so weary of scammers and thieves.

What would this woman have done without this reporter?

[progressoid]

2. And that guy is likely already running scams

[John1956PA]

3. I once read an article stating that some individuals listed on such referral sites have no locksmith experience at all.

When a homeowner accidentally locks theirself out, the charlatan shows up, breaks off the old lock, installs a new one, and charges an exorbitant amount.

A true locksmith would be able to pick the old lock so that the homeowner could enter the home and retrieve the keys.

[dickthegrouch]

4. And, having installed the "new" lock, they likely now have a key!

All they need do is wait a while and then clean the place out.
I'd have someone different change the barrel of the lock for one I'd bought new about an hour after the first locksmith leaves.

[MIButterfly]

5. People like that guy are absolutely despicable, taking advantage of people, especially the elderly, like that.

There's a special place in Hell for the likes of him. I'm so glad they reached out to the reporter and she got her money back.

You just don't know who to trust anymore. The shady companies seem to outnumber the honest companies these days and they're getting more and more brazen. Almost $4,000 to change a lock? That is absolutely criminal. I shudder to think about the people who don't have family looking out for them. How are they supposed to fight people like this guy by themselves?

[niyad]

9. I really prefer that their consequences be in the here and now. Yelp, NextDoor,

and other review apps, complaints to any relevant regulatory agency, lots of negative publicity. An ombudsperson, or whatever, if your local tv stations or newspapers have them. LOTS of ways to make them pay.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

14. Im glad the news showed the scammers image

[Joinfortmill]

6. Despicable. As an old gal

preparing to be a very old gal, this is one more thing on my list to prepare for.

[niyad]

7. I do not have to prepare for it. Sadly, as a woman, I have experienced the

scam artists like that all my life. .mechanics, repair people, sales reps. .you name it, they have tried it. Fortunately, I am also a VERY cynical and suspicious and vindictive BITCH, much to the surprise (not to mention depleted wallets and other consequences) of any number of them.

As our beloved Dolly says, I may be blonde, but I'm not dumb.

[PatrickforB]

8. I'd like to know who the piece of shit bank was that 'declined' to help her dispute the charge. n/t

[FakeNoose]

10. If you call a 800 number looking for a locksmith, you're actually talking to a broker

Real local locksmiths don't have offices or secretaries that answer their phones. Almost all of them work out of their own homes and many of the calls they get are middle of the night emergencies.

I learned the hard way when I had a situation that required a locksmith. I didn't know any, but since this was an emergency, I picked one out of the phone book. It turned out to be someone (never got the name) who answered the call at midnight. "I'm locked out of my house and the key broke in the lock. Help!" He told me someone would be there in about an hour. So the guy who showed up at my house in the middle of the night needed to see my ID, which I showed him.

After the locksmith put a new lock in my door and gave me the key, he said why did you call this guy in Arizona? I said I didn't, the ad in the phone book said he was in the south hills of Pittsburgh. The locksmith said no, that guy is a broker and he makes deals with all the locksmiths around here. So then I knew ... these emergency locksmith ads are mostly fake.

The fee wasn't too outrageous, about $150 and that covered his travel time, so I thought it was fair. These are things that most Americans never need to know, until you have an emergency. And then you find out the hard way ... this is how they do business.

[niyad]

12. We have several longtime locksmiths here, highly reputable, thank goodness.

One of the first things I do in a new place is change the locks myself, and make several extra copies that I keep in different accessible places. Where I live now, several of us have keys to each other's apartments, with duplicate car keys as well. The fact that I have such trustworthy neighbors is, I realize, a rarity and a blessing, for which I am most grateful.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

15. I bought one of those real estate agent locks and keep extra keys

Locked in the box hanging on my door

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

13. Oh..kinda of like when you order flowers

[FakeNoose]

16. I'm sure that's where they got the idea

Those flower brokers had it figured out long ago

[niyad]

11. Equally sickening to me was an asshole in the comments who insisted

it was nothing serious, no big deal.